Oil slick expected to take its toll on dolphins in Gulf

GRAND ISLE, LA - MAY 27: An ibis takes flight from an oil-covered marsh on an island May 27, 2010 near Grand Isle, Louisiana. BP and government officials are cautiously optimistic that the "top kill" solution of stopping the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster will be successful. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

GRAND ISLE, LA - MAY 27: Pelicans rest on the rocky shore of an island littered with white oil absorbing booms May 27, 2010 near Grand Isle, Louisiana. BP and government officials are cautiously optimistic that the "top kill" solution of stopping the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster will be successful. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

GRAND ISLE, LA - MAY 27: A pelican tries to clean its wings while standing on a rock in the water May 27, 2010 near Grand Isle, Louisiana. BP and government officials are cautiously optimistic that the "top kill" solution of stopping the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster will be successful. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

GRAND ISLE, LA - MAY 27: A pelican tries to clean its wings while standing in the water on an island littered with protective orange and white booms May 27, 2010 near Grand Isle, Louisiana. BP and government officials are cautiously optimistic that the "top kill" solution of stopping the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster will be successful. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

GRAND ISLE, LA - MAY 27: Behind a protective orange boom, an ibis stands in the water on an oil-covered marsh May 27, 2010 near Grand Isle, Louisiana. BP and government officials are cautiously optimistic that the "top kill" solution of stopping the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster will be successful. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A bown pelican soaked in oil struggles for survival on an island in Louisiana State waters during a boat trip with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal between Venice and Grand Isle, Louisiana, Sunday, May 23, 2010.
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BARATARIA BAY, LA - MAY 24: Brown pelicans sit behind an oil boom surrounding their island on May 24, 2010 in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. The island is home to brown pelicans, egrets and roseate spoonbills, some now stained by oil from the BP oil spill. Officials now say that it may be impossible to clean the hundreds of miles of coastal wetlands and islands affected by the massivel spill which continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

BARATARIA BAY, LA - MAY 24: Brown pelicans sit behind an oil boom surrounding their island on May 24, 2010 in Barataria Bay, Louisiana. The island is home to brown pelicans, egrets and roseate spoonbills, some now stained by oil from the BP oil spill. Officials now say that it may be impossible to clean the hundreds of miles of coastal wetlands and islands affected by the massivel spill which continues gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Dying hermit crabs try to get away from oil in the water in a tidal pool at Grand Isle, Lousiana, on May 21, 2010.
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Oil spill hits the beach at Grand Isle.A hermit crab is coated with oil in a tidal pool on the beach at Grand Isle,Lousiana May 21, 2010. Beach was closed shortly after photo was taken.
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An orange spot of oil floats over a blue crab in a tidal pool on the beach at Grand Isle, Lousiana, on May 21, 2010.
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Blobs of heavy oil coat the shell of a dying hermit crab in a tidal pool on the beach at Grand Isle, Lousiana, on May 21, 2010.
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A dead sea turtle is on the beach at Grand Isle, Louisiana, Monday, May 10, 2010. The National Guard is constructing a dam to prevent oil from entering the wetlands of Grand Isle and Port Fourchon.
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A dead turtle is seen on the beach as a Louisiana National Guard vehicle passes by on May 10, 2010 in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana. It is unknown how the turtle died. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP is leaking an estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf and the slick has now reached nearby land. Efforts to contain the spill, including a 98-ton containment box to cap the leak, have done little to slow its flow.
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An oily crab is seen on May 19, 2010 in a bayou south of Venice, Louisiana. Heavy oil from a massive spill oozed into Louisiana's fragile marshlands as other streams of crude entered a powerful current that could sweep it to Florida, Cuba and beyond. AFP PHOTO / Clement SABOURIN (Photo credit should read Clement Sabourin/AFP/Getty Images)
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A dragonfly tries to clean itself as it is stuck to marsh grass covered in oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, in Garden Island Bay on the Gulf Coast of Louisiana near Venice, Tuesday.

VENICE, LA - MAY 14: A seagull flies not far from the massive BP oil spill offshore May 14, 2010 over the sensitive marshlands near Venice, Louisiana. Oil continues leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead as BP works to contain the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

VENICE, LA - MAY 14: Seagulls feed not far from the massive BP oil spill offshore May 14, 2010 in the sensitive marshlands near Venice, Louisiana. Oil continues leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead as BP works to contain the massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico off the Louisiana coast. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

A tern enjoys a fish lunch on the oil free beach by Barataria Pass at the end of Grand Isle State Park, Louisiana, on Monday, May 17, 2010. (Joe Rimkus Jr./Miami Herald/MCT)
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A sandpiper looks for sand fleas on the oil free beach at the end of Grand Isle State Park, Louisiana, on Monday, May 17, 2010. (Joe Rimkus Jr./Miami Herald/MCT)
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A sandpiper searches for sand fleas on the beach by Barataria Pass at the end of Grand Isle State Park, Louisiana,on Monday, May 17, 2010. (Joe Rimkus Jr./Miami Herald/MCT)
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A school of mullet swim in an oil free Barataria Pass at the end of Grand Isle State Park, Louisiana, on Monday, May 17, 2010. (Joe Rimkus Jr./Miami Herald/MCT)
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A dead shark is seen laying in the surf as concern continues that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may harm animals in its path on May 4, 2010 in Ship Island, Mississippi. It is unknown if the shark died due to the oil spill. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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Brian Mollere calls in to a turtle rescue team as he looks at a dead sea turtle laying on a beach as concern continues that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may harm animals in its path on May 5, 2010 in Waveland, Mississippi. It is unknown if the turtle died due to the oil spill. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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A least tern sits in its nest May 5, 2010 along the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi. The least tern is in its nesting season in one of the largest colonies on the Gulf Coast and is in the path of the oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster putting the fragile colony in jeopardy. The nest is marked with a red flag by the Mississippi Coast Audubon Society to warn people of its' location.
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A dead drum fish is seen laying in the surf as concern continues that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may harm animals in its path on May 5, 2010 in Waveland, Mississippi. It is unknown if the fish died due to the oil spill. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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A dead drum fish is seen laying in the surf as concern continues that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may harm animals in its path on May 5, 2010 in Waveland, Mississippi. It is unknown if the fish died due to the oil spill. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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A dead sea turtle is seen laying on a beach as concern continues that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may harm animals in its path on May 5, 2010 in Waveland, Mississippi. It is unknown if the turtle died due to the oil spill. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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WAVELAND, MS - MAY 05: A dead drum fish is seen laying in the surf as concern continues that the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico may harm animals in its path on May 5, 2010 in Waveland, Mississippi. It is unknown if the fish died due to the oil spill. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
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A dead fish is seen on the beach May 5, 2010 in Pass Christian, Mississippi as the gulf coast is still threatened by the oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster.
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Orange colored chemical dispersant is seen in the water as it is used to help with the massive oil spill on May 5, 2010 in Breton and Chandeleur sounds off the coast of Louisiana. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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Dead Man-o-War are seen in an oil slick from the massive spill on May 5, 2010 in Breton and Chandeleur sounds off the coast of Louisiana. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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A dead Man-o-War is seen washed up on the shores along with the orange colored chemical dispersant used to help with the massive oil spill on May 5, 2010 on Freemason Island off the coast of Louisiana. Oil is still leaking out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead at a estimated rate of 1,000-5,000 barrels a day.
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A dead man 'o war floats in a slick of chemically dispersed oil in the Gulf of Mexico about 14 miles from the Venice marina off the coast of Louisiana on May 5, 2010. If estimates are correct, more than 2.5 million gallons of crude have entered the sea since the BP-leased platform spectacularly sank on April 22, still ablaze more than two days after the initial blast that killed 11 workers. It has not yet made significant landfall.
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Two black skimmers fight in the air May 5, 2010 along the beach in Biloxi, Mississippi. The natural habitat of the black skimmers is in the path of the oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster putting the colony in jeopardy.
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A dead fish is seen on the beach May 5, 2010 in Pass Christian, Mississippi as the gulf coast is still threatened by the oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon platform disaster. Emergency crews rushed to protect fragile shorelines and islands as the Gulf of Mexico oil slick expanded, prompting a mobilization of more national guard troops and alerts as far as the Florida Keys. With oil still gushing Wednesday from the ruptured offshore well, volunteers and others descended on the region to help stave off a looming environmental crisis from the huge oil patch.
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Containment booms protect a nesting area for pelicans on the Chandeleur Islands off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, May 5 2010. Conservationists worry that wildlife could soon be in danger if a huge oil slick swirling miles away comes ashore.
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Researchers from University of Southern Mississippi's Gulf Coast Research Lab examine cutlass fish on Wednesday, May 5, 2010, found in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico as one of the base-line samples. The research is studying the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the marine environment.
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University of Southern Mississippi research associate Rachel Ryan holds a young fiddler crab on Monday, May 3, 2010, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, before removing its hepatopancreas in the aquatic toxicology lab at USM's Gulf Coast Research Lab.
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Fish heads used by fishermen to catch blue crab in the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary sit in a box on a boat May 3, 2010 near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Fishermen who fish the estuary are concerned that oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico could adversely affect fishing either through oil contamination or overfishing as other fishermen seek out new areas to make a living.
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Justin Main, a volunteer with the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies in Gulfport, Miss., inspects the body of a sea turtle found dead on the beach in Pass Christian, Mississippi, on Sunday, May 2, 2010. An unusually high number of sea turtles have been found dead on beaches in Mississippi in the past two days
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Blue crab caught by fishermen in the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary sit in a tub on May 3, 2010 near Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Fishermen who fish the estuary are concerned that oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf of Mexico could adversely affect fishing either through oil contamination or overfishing as other fishermen seek out new areas to make a living.
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Erica Miller, left, and Danene Birtell with Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research work to help a Northern Gannet bird, normally white when full grown, which is covered in oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico, at a facility in Fort Jackson, La., Friday.

Image courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2002 -- A tubeworm bush with lots of Acesta bullisi. Notice how the clam sits over the opening of the tubeworm.

Close-up of mussels, Bathymodiolus childressi, from the Brine Pool. The expanded filaments on the mussel shells are byssal threads produced by the feet of the mussels and used to hold on to neighbors. Image courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2002

Image courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2002 -- A tray full of giant isopods and Rochina crabs recovered in a trap from the ocean floor.

A harpacticoid copepod collected from mud in the Gulf of Mexico. This specimen, a female carrying eggs, has been stained red to make it stand out from the rest of the sample. Image courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2002

Image courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2002 - A large spider crab crawling over a group of tubeworms.

Image courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2002 -- A small bush of tubeworms. When tubeworm bushes are young, only endemic species of animals can colonize them. The presence of the mussels (Bathymodiolis childressi) in the center of the bush means that methane is seeping just below.

Image courtesy of Gulf of Mexico Expedition 2002 - A tubeworm bush sitting on the deck of the ship.

LOGGERHEAD TURTLE

HAWKSBILL TURTLE
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GREEN TURTLE

STRIPED BASS

BROWN PELICAN
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LAUGHING GULLS (Small birds to the left of the brown pelican).

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHER

REDDISH EGRET

FLYCATCHER

ROSEATE SPOONBILL

"Mottled Duck", the painting by Adam Grimm, 21, was chosen as the winner of the 1999 Federal Duck Stamp Contest during a ceremony at the Department of the Interior in Washington Thursday Nov. 4, 1999.

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This NASA Earth Observatory image obtained May 27, 2010 taken by the Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) on NASA’s Terra satellite shows a false-color, high-resolution view of the very tip of the Mississippi River Delta on May 24, 2010. Ribbons and patches of oil that have leaked from the Deepwater Horizon well offshore are silver against the light blue color of the adjacent water. Vegetation is red. In the sunglint region of a satellite image—where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun gets blurred into a wide, bright strip—any differences in the texture of the water surface are enhanced. Oil smoothes the water, making it a better “mirror.” Oil-covered waters are very bright in this image, but, depending on the viewing conditions (time of day, satellite viewing angle, slick location), oil-covered water may look darker rather than brighter. The cause of the dark patch of water in the upper left quadrant of the image is unknown. It may indicate the use of chemical dispersants, skimmers, or booms, or it may be the result of natural differences in turbidity, salinity, or organic matter in the coastal waters. AFP PHOTO/NASA/GSFC/METI/ERSDAC/JAROS/US/Japan ASTER Science Team (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
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FILE - In this Wednesday, May 5, 2010 file photo, a shrimp boat is used to collect oil from last month's Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico in the waters of Chandeleur Sound, La. A reader-submitted question about the feasibility of using a vacuum-type suction device that could suck up some of the oil is being answered as part of an Associated Press Q&A column called "Ask AP." (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
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The most recent NASA MODIS satellite image of the Gulf of Mexico obtained on May 28, 2010 shows the extent of the oil released from the Deepwater Horizon spill. The image was taken on May 23, 2010 and processed on May, 24th. The oil can be seen as a sheen on the water surface. It is especially evident when the angle of the sun's light that is reflected off of the ocean surface is equal to the viewing angle of the satellite - called sunglint. Areas of oil contamination outside of the sunglint are not as noticeable. It is therefore necessary to use multiple satellite passes to accurately estimate the actual extent of the spill. An arm of the spill is seen moving through the center of the image - this is due to some of the oil being entrained in the surface currents of the Gulf of Mexico, specifically the Loop Current. AFP PHOTO/NOAA/NASA/HANDOUT/RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
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GRAND ISLE, LA - MAY 27: Oil floats ashore at the Grand Isle East State Park May 27, 2010 on Grand Isle, Louisiana. BP and government officials are cautiously optimistic that the "top kill" solution of stopping the oil spill caused by the Deepwater Horizon disaster will be successful. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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In this image released on May 25, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was perfectly positioned in the sunglint part of a photo-like image from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite. In the sunglint region—where the mirror-like reflection of the Sun gets blurred into a wide, bright strip—any differences in the texture of the water surface are enhanced. Oil smoothes the water, making it a better “mirror.” The slick appears large and sprawling, reaching out in numerous ribbons toward the tip of the Mississippi River Delta. Oil is visible in the marshes of Barataria Bay and barrier islands to the southwest. Although most of the oil is located near and to the west and northwest of the damaged well, one streamer of oil continues to stretch toward the southeast. Energy giant BP's "top kill" effort to plug its leaking well in the Gulf of Mexico has stopped oil and gas from coming up and "stabilized the wellhead," Coast Guard commandant Thad Allen said on May 27, 2010. AFP PHOTO/NASA (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)
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GULF OF MEXICO - MAY 26: Oil streaks into the Gulf of Mexico May 26, 2010 near Brush Island, Louisiana. As BP prepares to try and stop the oil leak with a 'top kill' method, the Louisiana coastline is reeling from the effects of the continued gusher. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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BRUSH ISLAND, LA - MAY 26: Pelicans take flight near an oil covered shoreline on May 26, 2010 in Brush Island, Louisiana. As BP prepares to try and stop the oil leak with a 'top kill' method, the Louisiana coastline is reeling from the effects of the continued gusher. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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GULF OF MEXICO - MAY 26: Birds take flight near an oil covered shoreline on May 26, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico near Brush Island, Louisiana. As BP prepares to try and stop the oil leak with a 'top kill' method, the Louisiana coastline is reeling from the effects of the continued gusher. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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This U.S. Coast Guard photo obtained Tuesday shows the crew of a Basler BT-67 fixed wing aircraft as they release oil dispersant over an oil discharge from the mobile offshore drilling unit, Deepwater Horizon, off the shore of Louisiana, May 5, 2010. More than 7000,000 gallons of chemicals have been used to break up the oil spill. Fresh waves of crude oil swept onto Gulf of Mexico shores Tuesday as energy giant BP readied for a desperate effort to plug a massive leak that is threatening an environmental disaster.

Chandeleur Islands in the Gulf of Mexico as seen on Thursday, May 20, 2010. Many are waiting to see how the islands may be affected by Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (James Edward Bates/Biloxi Sun Herald/MCT)
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Transocean's Discoverer Enterprise drilling vessel, lower right, burns off gas at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, May 20, 2010. (James Edward Bates/Biloxi Sun Herald/MCT)
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This US Coast Guard handout image shows crews conducting overflights of controlled burns taking place in the Gulf of Mexico May 19, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. During controlled burns, oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is burned in an effort to reduce the amount of oil in the water.
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This US Coast Guard handout image shows crews conducting overflights of controlled burns taking place in the Gulf of Mexico May 19, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. During controlled burns, oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is burned in an effort to reduce the amount of oil in the water. AFP PHOTO/HO/US COAST GUARD/ Chief Petty Officer John Kepsimelis == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN == (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
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This US Coast Guard handout image shows crews conducting overflights of controlled burns taking place in the Gulf of Mexico May 19, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. During controlled burns, oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is burned in an effort to reduce the amount of oil in the water. AFP PHOTO/HO/US COAST GUARD/ Chief Petty Officer John Kepsimelis == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN == (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
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This picture released by Greenpeace on May 19, 2010 shows an aerial view of a ship funnelling some of the leaking oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead and flaring the collected gas off the Louisiana coast. BP said that a tube inserted into a ruptured oil pipe now is sucking up about 40 percent of the crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, about twice as much as it did one day earlier. The company said in a statement that its "riser insertion tube tool" is estimated to be collecting and carrying about 2,000 barrels a day of oil to flow up to the drillship Discoverer Enterprise on the surface 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above. AFP PHOTO / GREENPEACE - DANIEL BELTRA = DO NO USE 14 DAYS AFTER RELEASE, NO RESALE, NO ARCHIVES, RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS = (Photo credit should read DANIEL BELTRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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This picture released by Greenpeace on Wednesday shows an aerial view of a vessel passing through leaking oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead off the Louisiana coast. BP said that a tube inserted into a ruptured oil pipe now is sucking up about 40 percent of the crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, about twice as much as it did one day earlier. The company said in a statement that its "riser insertion tube tool" is estimated to be collecting and carrying about 2,000 barrels a day of oil to flow up to the drill ship Discoverer Enterprise on the surface 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above.

This picture released by Greenpeace on May 19, 2010 shows an aerial view of a vessel passing through leaking oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead off the Louisiana coast. BP said that a tube inserted into a ruptured oil pipe now is sucking up about 40 percent of the crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, about twice as much as it did one day earlier. The company said in a statement that its "riser insertion tube tool" is estimated to be collecting and carrying about 2,000 barrels a day of oil to flow up to the drillship Discoverer Enterprise on the surface 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above. AFP PHOTO / GREENPEACE - DANIEL BELTRA = DO NO USE 14 DAYS AFTER RELEASE, NO RESALE, NO ARCHIVES, RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS = (Photo credit should read DANIEL BELTRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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This picture released by Greenpeace on May 19, 2010 shows an aerial view vesels passing through leaking oil from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead off the Louisiana coast. BP said that a tube inserted into a ruptured oil pipe now is sucking up about 40 percent of the crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, about twice as much as it did one day earlier. The company said in a statement that its "riser insertion tube tool" is estimated to be collecting and carrying about 2,000 barrels a day of oil to flow up to the drillship Discoverer Enterprise on the surface 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above. AFP PHOTO / GREENPEACE - DANIEL BELTRA = DO NO USE 14 DAYS AFTER RELEASE, NO RESALE, NO ARCHIVES, RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS = (Photo credit should read DANIEL BELTRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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This picture released by Greenpeace on May 19, 2010 shows an aerial view of spilled oil being burnt off seven miles Northeast of the location where the Deepwater Horizon wellhead sank off the Louisiana coast. BP said that a tube inserted into a ruptured oil pipe now is sucking up about 40 percent of the crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, about twice as much as it did one day earlier. The company said in a statement that its "riser insertion tube tool" is estimated to be collecting and carrying about 2,000 barrels a day of oil to flow up to the drillship Discoverer Enterprise on the surface 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) above. AFP PHOTO / GREENPEACE - DANIEL BELTRA = DO NO USE 14 DAYS AFTER RELEASE, NO RESALE, NO ARCHIVES, RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE, NOT FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS = (Photo credit should read DANIEL BELTRA/AFP/Getty Images)
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This NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Terra satellite image captured Monday shows a close up view of a massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico as it continued spreading moving perilously close to shore, near Louisiana. BP said Tuesda that a tube inserted into a ruptured oil pipe now is sucking up about 40 percent of the crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico, about twice as much as it did one day earlier.

A ship's wake cuts through a pattern of oil near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico Monday.
AP

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon well swirls in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana on Thursday.

VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil sit on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has leaked out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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Oil from the Deepwater Horizon well swirls in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana on Thursday, May 6, 2010. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
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Oil from the Deepwater Horizon well swirls in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana on Thursday, May 6, 2010. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil are seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that have leaked out from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil sit on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has leaked out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil sit on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has leaked out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil sit on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has leaked out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil sit on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has leaked out of the Deepwater Horizon wellhead operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil are seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that have leaked out from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil are seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that have leaked out from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Oil platforms and boats surround the site of the Deepwater Horizon well head operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: An oil platform sits in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The Deephorizon wellhead operated by BP is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: An oil platform sits in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The Deephorizon wellhead operated by BP is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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A containment device waits to be lowered into the water at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in hopes that the device will be able to curtail the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, May 6, 2010. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Boats including a barge carrying a oil containment vessel sit out near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: A new oil platform sits out near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: A new oil platform sits out near the Deepwater Horizon oil spill site in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Oil platforms and boats surround the site of the Deepwater Horizon well head operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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A containment device, located on the back of the ship at the lower left, waits to be lowered into the water at the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in hopes that the device will be able to curtail the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday, May 6, 2010. (Rick Loomis/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: A tug boat pushes a barge with supplies away from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking up to 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: The Joe Griffin barge carrying the containment box which will be used to try to contain the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sits in the Gulf of Mexico surrounded by oil on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP is leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Large amounts of oil are seen on the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that have leaked out from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: The Joe Griffin barge carrying the containment box which will be used to try to contain the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sits in the Gulf of Mexico surrounded by oil on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig operated by BP is leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: The barge Joe Griffin carrying the containment vessel that will be used to help stop one of the leaks from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead sits in the Gulf of Mexico waiting to be lowered to the sea floor on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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VENICE, LA - MAY 06: Oil platforms and boats surround the site of the Deepwater Horizon well head operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico on May 6, 2010 in Venice, Louisiana. The well is still leaking an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
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In this handout from NASA, an oil slick from the sunk Deepwater Horizon drilling platform is seen May 4, 2010 off the coast of Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico.

This NASA Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aqua satellite image Captured May 4, 2010 shows a close up view of a massive oil slick (right in the Gulf of Mexico as it continued spreading moving perilously close to shore, near Louisiana. The massive oil spill bearing down on Louisiana's fragile coast wetlands comes at the worst time for untold numbers of nesting birds and spawning fish whose young are most vulnerable to the toxic sludge. Nearly all migratory birds in the Western Hemisphere stop over in the marshes surrounding the mouth of the Mississippi river and tens of thousands are currently guarding eggs laid along the shores. AFP PHOTO/NASA/ /HANDOUT/RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
HANDOUT

A May 1, 2010 satellite image provided by NASA shows heavy oil coloring the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. The image is made from both visible and infrared light, but the slick looks similar to a natural color image made solely from visible light. The heaviest oil is silver with slightly lighter concentrations radiating out in streaks of white. The water is black, though even the dark water is tainted with white, hinting at oil on the water’s surface throughout the image.

In this May 1, 2010 satellite photo provided by NASA, the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico closes in on the Gulf Coast in the southern United States.
AP

In this May 1, 2010 satellite photo provided by NASA, the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico closes in on the Gulf Coast in the southern United States. Oil from a massive spill in the Gulf of Mexico was starting to ooze ashore, threatening migrating birds, nesting pelicans, river otters and mink along Louisiana's fragile islands and barrier marshes.

Handout photo obtained on April 30, 2010 from Eumetsat shows a satellite image taken on April 29 of the growing oil slick off the coast of Louisiana slowly approaching the Mississippi Delta.
HANDOUT

This NASA Earth Observatory image released April 29, 2010 shows a damaged oil well that may be leaking five times more oil into the Gulf of Mexico than officials first estimated. This view of the slick was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on April 28, 2010. The eastern part of the oily area is covered by streaks of clouds, but the reddish streaks shown in photos of the slick appear to be visible. It appears that a tendril of oil is reaching out toward the tip of the delta. Menacing weather, including high winds and "very rough" seas, threatens to wreak havoc with cleanup of a massive oil spill in the Gulf coast, US officials said in a forecast issued Thursday. The leak erupted when the Deepwater Horizon platform sank April 22, two days after a huge explosion that killed 11 workers, forming a giant oil slick that threatens to pollute Louisiana's fragile wetlands. AFP PHOTO/NASA/NORMAN KURING/HANDOUT/RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE (Photo credit should read NORMAN KURING/AFP/Getty Images)
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In this April 27, 2010 NASA Aqua satellite image shows the oil spil(dark swirls Right of center) in the GUlf of Mexico. Emergency teams are scheduled to begin a controlled burn of a giant oil slick off the US coast in the Gulf of Mexico at 1600 GMT, officials said April 28. "Workboats will consolidate oil into a fire resistant boom approximately 500 feet (150 meters) long," said a statement from a joint disaster response center set up by British energy giant BP and the US Coast Guard."This oil will then be towed to a more remote area, where it will be ignited and burned in a controlled manner. The plan calls for small, controlled burns of several thousand gallons of oil lasting approximately one hour each." AFP PHOTO/HO/NASA == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN == (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
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An image acquired April 28, 2010 by the NASA Earth Observatory shows the Gulf Coast and near-shore waters as captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite. The Mississippi Delta is at image center, and the oil slick is a silvery swirl, right. HO/AFP/Getty Images)
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This April 27, 2010 NASA/NOAA satellite image shows the position of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. US officials have approved a "controlled burn" to protect ecologically fragile coastlines from a spreading oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, the Coast Guard said April 28.The drastic move to set the sea on fire is seen as necessary after a giant slick growing by 42,000 gallons a day moved within 20 miles of Louisiana's wetlands -- an important sanctuary for waterfowl and other wildlife. Southern US states, including Florida, Alabama and Mississippi are bracing for the possibility that beaches and fisheries, crucial to the region's economy, could be gunked up as early as this weekend by oily ooze from a huge slick with a 600-mile (965-kilometer) circumference. AFP PHOTO/HO/NASA/NOAA == RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN == (Photo credit should read HO/AFP/Getty Images)
HANDOUT

An April 25, 2010 satellite photo provided Tuesday by NASA shows the oil slick from the 42,000 gallon-a-day oil leak from a well in the Gulf of Mexico following and explosion at the the Deepwater Horizon platform on April 20.

An April 25, 2010 satellite photo provided by NASA shows a portion of the slick, with ships visible at bottom of the frame, from the 42,000 gallon-a-day oil leak from a well in the Gulf of Mexico following and explosion at the the Deepwater Horizon platform on April 20.
NASA/AP

EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil floats in the water June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil floats in the water June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil tries to take flight June 4, 2010 on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil floats in the water June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil floats in the water June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil floats in the water June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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GRAND ISLE, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil wallows in the surf June 4, 2010 on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil tries to take flight June 4, 2010 on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil floats in the water June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil floats in the water June 4, 2010 near East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil tries to take flight June 4, 2010 on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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GRAND ISLE, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil wallows in the surf June 4, 2010 on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil wallows in the surf June 4, 2010 on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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EAST GRAND TERRE ISLAND, LA - JUNE 04: A brown pelican coated in heavy oil wallows in the surf June 4, 2010 on East Grand Terre Island, Louisiana. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon incident is coming ashore in large volumes across southern Louisiana coastal areas. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
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A dead, oil-soaked bird washed up near Grand Isle, Louisiana, where men work on Friday, May 21, 2010, cleaning up the oil that has washed ashore. This is the first time that large amounts of oil has washed ashore in populated areas. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/MCT)
MBR

For now, desperate oily pelicans are the gut-wrenching image of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

But before long there will be others, including the most beloved sea creature of all, the dolphin.

"We're going to lose a lot of them," said Dr. Denise Herzing, research director for the Wild Dolphin Research Project in Jupiter. "It is unconscionable and it is criminal. It is akin to a nuclear power plant explosion underwater."

As of Wednesday, there were 51 confirmed reports of marine mammal strandings involving oil: one sperm whale, 3 spinner and 47 bottlenose dolphins collected in the Gulf — dead or alive — since the Deepwater Horizon spill on April 20. Four of those dolphins were found along Florida's Gulf coast:

A visibly oiled bottlenose dolphin also was found trapped in a boom in Perdido on Florida's western border, but when the boom was moved, the dolphin swam away.

Three dead spinner dolphins were also found, one on Mexico Beach, south of Panama City, with no signs of oil, another with serious injuries from a shark attack that was euthanized on a Panama City beach and one as far east as Venice, just south of Sarasota, also with no signs of oil.

It is not known if oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill killed the dolphins. Necropsy results are pending. Dolphin strandings are not uncommon. Last year — one of the better years — only 128 dolphins were discovered stranded on Florida's shores. About 40 percent of those were in the 22 counties along the Gulf of Mexico.

Although oil and tar will not stick to a dolphin like it does to fur and feathers, dolphin — unlike fish — breathe air. Every time they surface, they will swim through the toxic slick and breathe fumes at the surface.

While dolphins are among the smartest animals on the planet, researchers do not know if their intelligence will protect them from the oil.

"I think they are smart enough to realize they are in bad water and they need to get out," said Beth Smart, founder of the Dolphin and Marine Medical Research Foundation in West Palm Beach. "However, they also travel in pods and stick together."

Dolphins have long lives, and several generations of one family may live together in a pod. That loyalty to each other can be fatal, Herzing said.

"There have been some reports of dolphins stranding together because they are families," Herzing said. "If one gets sick they hold him at the surface to breathe."

The biggest threat probably will come from eating fish contaminated with oil. Eating toxic fish could suppress the dolphins' immune system, making them vulnerable to pneumonia and other illnesses, Herzing said. Another marine mammal facing death by food poisoned with oil are baleen whales, which often feed on plankton at the surface.

Dolphins, though, are unique among the animals likely to be affected by the oil not only because of their nature but because of ours. Modern humans appear to feel a connection with dolphins that they don't even with other marine mammals, perhaps in part because of marine theme parks that have provided people an opportunity to interact with dolphins, even to the extent of swimming with them in some places.

The Dolphin and Marine Medical Research Foundation has a dog trained to alert on dead and distressed marine mammals, Smart said. Cloud, a 4-year-old female black Labrador retriever, is the only dog the foundation is aware of that is able to pick up scents and sounds from the bow of a boat and lead rescuers to the animal.

For now, Cloud has not been able to work in areas hardest hit by oil — where the fumes are still strong and toxic. Even though she has a vest and boots, "if there is any chance she is going to be in contact with the oil, we're not going to endanger Cloud," Smart said.

While dolphins in the Gulf have been widely studied, there are few data on dolphins off Florida's Atlantic coast. What impact the oil will have on them if the loop current pulls the weathered oil to the east coast is not known.

"We are going to see a change but we don't know what it is," Smart said. "We're kind of waiting for mother nature to give us a clue."

For now, desperate oily pelicans are the gut-wrenching image of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

But before long there will be others, including the most beloved sea creature of all, the dolphin.